News: Reliance Petroleum to raise $1.5 bln debt

(RTR 11/08/2006) Mumbai - Reliance Petroleum Ltd., a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd., said on Friday it is raising $1.5 billion in syndicated loan in the international market.

The funds will be used to build a 580,000-barrels-a-day refinery and a unit to make 0.9 million tonnes of polypropylene a year in Gujarat.

The loan consists of $950 million for seven and a half years, and $550 million for 10 years, the company said in a statement.

Syndication is expected to be closed in October, the company said.

Reliance Petroleum, earlier this year raised $600 million in an initial public offering selling a 10 percent stake to build the refinery complex.

It also sold a 5 percent holding to Chevron Corp. for $300 million with an option to sell another 24 percent.

The new refinery is expected to take about 2-½ years to begin operations.